Rating: 
Summary: Major Disappointment - White Gold Weeper
Review: This horrible book is the direct result of Donaldson being forced to write a sequel to the first trilogy when he clearly had better things to do (read Mordant's Need or the Gap Series). Nevertheless, I was truly surprised at how good The One Tree was (equal to the Illearth War) and actaully had high hopes for the conclusion as a result. But it sucks. It drags along, is very predictable and the hero ends up being freakin' Linden Avery whom I never bonded with (she doesn't belong!). No wonder this book is out of print.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing
Review: This is one of the best stories I have ever read
Rating: 
Summary: Haste makes Waste
Review: This is the sixth and last of the Thomas Covenant series, originally designed as a trilogy. It is a Tolkienesque saga for the post-adolescent psyche, i.e. a slightly older target audience than Tolkien. The first trilogy was a near masterpiece, so i had high hopes for the sequel trilogy, and the Wounded Land did not disappoint! However the story began to unravel in the One Tree, which began to get shrill and mundane toward the end. White Gold Wielder, the last, must have been rushed to meet a publisher's deadline, because it's just awful. The quality of the writing deteriorated markedly; in one case, the words describing a scene were identical to those used 20 pages earlier -- got by the editor, i guess! Also, Linden's character becomes increasingly shallow as the book progresses. She was never one of Donaldson"s greastest inventions, and in this book simply doesn't measure up to her role in the plot. SD is a wonderfully imaginative writer of page-turners that linger in the mind. He has done much better before and since. This book seems to be a casualty in the conflict between art and the business of best-seller marketing.
Rating:
Summary: Haste makes Waste
Review: This is the sixth and last of the Thomas Covenant series, originally designed as a trilogy. It is a Tolkienesque saga for the post-adolescent psyche, i.e. a slightly older target audience than Tolkien. The first trilogy was a near masterpiece, so i had high hopes for the sequel trilogy, and the Wounded Land did not disappoint! However the story began to unravel in the One Tree, which began to get shrill and mundane toward the end. White Gold Wielder, the last, must have been rushed to meet a publisher's deadline, because it's just awful. The quality of the writing deteriorated markedly; in one case, the words describing a scene were identical -- got by the editor, i guess! Also, Linden's character becomes increasingly shallow as the book progresses. She was never one of Donaldson"s greastest inventions, and in this book simply doesn't measure up to her role in the plot. SD is a wonderfully imaginative writer of page-turners that linger in the mind. He has done much better before and since. This book seems to be a casualty in the conflict between art and the business of best-seller marketing.
Rating:
Summary: POWERFUL STUFF
Review: This review applies to White Gold Wielder and also to the five books preceding it in the series. The Thomas Covenant chronicles was my first real foray into fantasy saga, having developed a fascination and affinity for the genre through playing Dungeons & Dragons as a young teenager, and reading the occasional novel. I read all six books over a one year period (age 18-19), and was utterly hooked almost immediately upon starting Lord Foul's Bane (yes, I'm a slow reader, but I savoured every minute of it!). What impresses me the most is how Donaldson so completely transports you to The Land, and creates in you such a love and wonderment for all its poignant beauty, legendary richness and inhabitants, that you cannot bear to see any ill come to it; it takes on a quality of sacrosanctity. Covenant himself quickly establishes himself as a tragic (if unlikely) hero, but with certain character flaws and frailties which reinforce his humanness. His leprosy is used skillfully as a vehicle to keep himself sane in this fantastic world, which he fears is a construct of madness closing in. His "unbelief" that this "Land" is reality at all lends the saga a delicious aspect of irony, as he nonetheless fights to preserve its beauty and history from the ravages of Lord Foul, the Despiser. The conflict between good and evil is well-defined; never corny or predictable; Foul is undeniably evil, and his contempt for the sacred Land truly disturbing; Thomas Covenant, through the power of his white gold ring (the only hope The Land has of salvation) is a muddle of self-doubts and paradoxes, but undeniably loves The Land and plans to defend it no matter what the cost. The ravage and war waged on The Land is both extremely exciting, and unbearably brutal. The sub-plot of fellow "real-worlder" Dr. Linden Avery affords us a look at a new dimensions of Covenant than were possible in the first trilogy. Now he has female companionship, allowing potential for a physical and emotional bond, and an ally whose incredulity at this Land is similar to that of his own in the first three tomes. Covenant's love for The Land is infectious, and his gradual acceptance of it truly moving. This Land is the only thing left that Covenant cares about, having been shunned by the world to which he used to belong. Donaldson has ensured that character development throughout all six books is rich and revealing, the descriptions of The Land, its customs, creatures and peoples exquisite. Maybe it was the age I was at, or the state of mind I was in, but never have I been moved since by a book (or series of books) like I was with the Covenant chronicles. I still remember reading the last line of Wielder in my grandmother's house, at four in the morning, after a marathon read. Still remember the shiver that went down my spine. The following words are my attempt to do justice to this masterwork: Fantastic, breathtaking, goosebump-giving, exquisite, majestic, powerful stuff....pure magic. I give it a gold star. White gold, of course.
Rating:
Summary: As good as the first series.
Review: This series was just as good as the first. Not your normal fantasy as it's quite dark and doesn't follow the standard formula that most fantasy books do nowadays.
Rating:
Summary: Great Saga. In some ways better than Tolkien
Review: To those out there who like these stories: Buy and read those six books. You will never be the same, and will wish the Land really existed.
Rating:
Summary: Sad to finish...
Review: What can I say? I first read the books when I was 22. When Covenant said goodbye to Linden at the end of WGW, I felt exactly as I did 10 years earlier when I read Tolkien, and Sam watched Frodo crossing the sea. It's hard to say goodbye. Clearly the best fantasy written in a generation.
Rating:
Summary: Untouchable
Review: When I was 12, Lord Foul's Bane was published in the UK. Donaldson's debut and subsequent novels hooked me so completely that I've been looking for a repeat of that 'pure reading' experience ever since. Periodically, my search takes me to the latest 'hot' new multi part fantasy (Jordan, Feist, Goodkind, Eddings etc) but only Tad Williams' books have come close to the extraordinary sensation of reading the Thomas Covenant story arc. With the other (endless) sagas, I've never been able to get past the first couple of instalments before their derivative and formulaic hack work; same story - different names, becomes too much. Donaldson's books remain apart. The central characters have a complexity and humanity that makes them properly three-dimensional and their heroism becomes utterly convincing because of it. These books have everything you want from fantasy; a literate prose style, emotional engagement, character development, awe and wonder, impossible odds, fear, glossaries and cool characters (Vain, the Haruchai...wow). Most of all, while you always know that these kind of books end in a showdown with 'Evil', the journey to that moment is never predictable, never implausible, always gripping. I read the books as the were published through my school years. And I've read them again, first when I was at University, and again about 5 years ago in Nepal, relaxing after a month long trek. Each time I 'consumed' the two trilogies in a matter of days - barely stopping for food. Each time Donaldson transported me back to the Land, a fantasy realm for grown-ups. Last year I got married. It had to be with a white gold ring....
Rating: 
Summary: Covenant finally puts an end to it
Review: White Gold Wielder is the final member of Donaldson's series of six Thomas Covenant novels. In this one, our hero finally gets around to fighting the Despiser himself. But first he has to take care of the Banefire burning from out of Revelstone. So in this book we get two climactic battles and they're both actually quite exciting with unexpected outcomes. I won't give anything away except to mention that the Sandgorgon Nom from The One Tree is back in fine form. Nom was possibly the most interesting character from that book. The One Tree is, in my opinion, the best novel in the second trilogy. White Gold Wielder, though satisfying, doesn't quite match it nor does it compare to The Illearth War (the second book of the first trilogy). It is, however, a much better finish than The Power That Preserves was to the first series. Unfortunately, characterization takes somewhat of a nosedive from the previous books in the series (though not near as bad as the atrocious nosedive between the two books of Dan Simmons's Endymion series). The Giants in this novel are more than ever before like machines: impossibly strong and devoid of character flaws for the most part. Linden is a headcase and doesn't resemble anyone I know. The "romance" between Covenant and Linden, if you can call it that, seems ridiculously artificial and contrived. These two people never lighten up! They're stone-faced serious at all times and argue with each other more than anything else. Donaldson doesn't manage to convince the reader that they're actually lovers and I think that he should have abandoned the whole relationship from the start and just focused on the action. The action is done very well and brings this book up to a solid four-star rating. As in all five previous books, Donaldson's development of the swords and sorcery is excellent. The first half of the book is somewhat slow, but the tension builds well as the party gets closer to the waiting enemy. The long sequence under Kiril Threndor will have you turning pages late into the night to find out what happens next. I'm glad I read through this series. Though not quite as complex as some other offerings in the fantasy genre, the generally dark mood of the prose gives the Covenant novels a unique touch. I think that those in their late teens would get the most enjoyment out of these books.
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